Rotary well-drilling tool



June 23, 1925. 1,542,880

' 4 H. E. HOBBS ROTARY WELL DRILLING TOOL Filed Marqh 21. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 23, 1925.

H. E. HOBB S ROTARY WELL DRILLING TOOL 2 Sheets-Sfieet 2 Filed March 21. 1923 m m AN H E Hobbs 5% V 1 7 atlio'zwaql Patented June. 23,1925.

UNITED STATES mm a HOBBS, or 1mm, OKLAHOMA.

ROTARY WELL-DRILLING TOOL.

'pplication filed March 21, 1928. Serial No. 626,591.

To all whom it may co /teem:

Be it known that I, HIRAM E. Horns, citizen of the United States, residing at Enid, in the county of Garfield and State of Oklahoma, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotar WellsDrilling Tools, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved rotary drilling tool and seeks, among other objects, to provide a tool of this character especially adapted for drilling wells of small diameter, such as test wells, but equally well adapted for drilling wells of larger diameter and which will make ossible the use of a casing of uniform size or any given well. I

The invention seeks as a further object to provide a tool wherein the well casing may be lowered as the drilling progresses so that, at all times, the lower end of the casing may be near the tool to prevent caving in of the well and wherein the tool may be readily lowered into the well through the casing and as easily withdrawn through the casing.

The invention seeks as a further object,

7 to provide a tool employing a bit at the point thereof and wherein reaming jaws will be provided for reaming out the bore behind the bit. 1

Another object of the invention is to provide a tool wherein the jaws will be so mounted as to gradually increase the diameter of the bore as the tool moves downwardly and wherein the jaws will function:

to cut a smooth clean-cut hole.

Still another object of the invention is'to provide a tool wherein the jaws will be rigidly supported against inward thrust and will also be braced or supported against shearing strain.

And the invention seeks, as a still further object, to provide a tool embodying means whereby a circulation of water may be maintained through the tool to flow around the reaming jaws as well as around the bit for cooling the working parts of the tool and wherein provision wil be made for the discharge of the water upwardly about the bit through the well casing.

- Other and incidenta objects will appear A hereinafter.

In the drawings:

proved drilling tool,

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view showing the manner in which the tool may be lowered through a well .casin the casing being conventionally illustrated,

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, showing the working position of-the tool,

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view on the line 44 of Figure 3, looking in the direction of the arrows,

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure 3, looking in the direction of the arrows,

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view on the line 6-6 of Figure 3, looking in the direction of the arrows.

In carryin the invention into effect, I employ a cylmdrical shell 10 which is provided, as shown in Figure 4, with a squared bore 11 therethrough and formed in opposite walls of said bore at the lower end-portion of the shell are longitudinally directed channels 12 openin through the lower end edge of the shell. Near its upper end, the shell is provided with oppositely disposed openings 13 and inserted 1n the shell from the lower end thereof is a squared core-bar 14 slidably fitting in the shell. At its lower end this core bar is provided with oppositely disposed lugs 15 extending into the channels 12 for engagement with the upper end walls of said channels to limit the bar in its upward movement through the shell and formed in the side faces of the bar at its upper end ortion are pairs of water channels 16 and 17 opening through the upper end of the bar and defining intervening ribs 18 fitting the corners of the bore 11. Formed in corresponding ribs at the lower ends of said channels are, as shown in Figure 4, notches or passages 19 connecting the channels 16 with the channels 17. At its lower end portion, the core bar is cut away at opposite sides thereof to define a pair of oppositely inclined wedge faces 20.

Removably mounted upon the shell at its lower end 1s an appropriate bit 21 such as a spinner bit or a fish tail bit. -As will be observed, the bit is provided with a squared shank fitting in the shell and formed with ribs which are received in the channels 12, the bit being removably connected with the shell by a set bolt 22 adjustably engaging the shank. Formed through opposite walls of the shell at its lower end portion are longitudinally directed slots 23 in 110 which are freely accommodated a pair of oppositely presented reaming jaws 24. Detachably and pivotally connecting the jaws near their lower inner corners with the shell is a pivot bolt25 passing through the jaws centrally of the shell while at their upper ends, the jaws are provided with inclined end edges 26 engageable with the upper end walls of the slots 23 for limiting the jaws in their outward swinging movement through said slots, the upper end walls of the slots being beveled to seat the edges 26 of the jaws flat thereagainst. The jaws are, as shown in Figure 3, thus adapted to assume an-upwardly divergent relation lying substantially flush at their lower ends with the adjacent side faces of the shell and gradually extending outwardly beyond the shell toward their upper ends. At their outer longitudinal edges the jaws are formed with teeth 27 cut into the jaws from the rear faces thereof and, if found desirable, these teeth may, as suggested in the drawings, be gradually increased in size from the lower ends of the jaws toward the upper ends thereof. Throughout the major portion of their length the jaws are formed with straight inner longitudinal edges but at the upper end portions thereof are provided with inclined faces 28 and, as will now be observed, the jaws are spaced apart in parallel relation to slidably receive the cut.

away portion of the core bar 14 therebetween so that the jaws are thus disposed for engagement at their inner edges by the wedge faces 20 of said bar. At its lower end, the bar is notched, as indicated at 29, to accommodate the pivot pin 25 of the jaws.

Slidably fitting over the shell 10 from the upper end thereof is a sleeve 30, the lower end of which is gradually tapered in thickness to substantially a feather edge at the lower end of the shell so that the outer wall v of the sleeve thus gradually merges into the wall of the shell. Formed in the sleeve at its lower end portion are longitudinally directed slots 31 to snugly accommodate the jaws 24 and, as shown in Figure 3, the upper end walls of these slots are beveled to seat flat against the upper end edges 26 of the jaws. Formed in the sleeve near the upper end thereof is an internal boss 32 threaded to removably engage the upper end of the core bar rigidly connecting'the sleeve with .said bar and, as will be observed, the sleeve is tapered at its upper end portion and is provided with a reduced upwardly tapered flange. Removably threaded over said flange is a turning tube 33 flared to engage the flange and provided with an internal annular shoulder seating against the upper end .edge of said flange while at its lower endedge the tube is formed to seat flat against the shoulder at the base of the flange. The turning tube is thus in communication with the channels 16 and 17 of the core bar and formed in the sleeve to normally reg straight while, as brought out in Figure 4,

the bottom Walls of said passages are gradually inclined circumferentially of the shell to merge into the outer face thereof, and leading downwardly in the outer face of the shell from the openings 34 to the passages 35, are similarly formed water passages 36 connecting said openings with the slush discharge passages.

As will now be seen in view of the foregoing description, the sleeve 30 may, as shown in Figure 2, be pulled upwardly upon the shell, when the core bar 14 will be retracted with the sleeve for elevating the cam faces 20 from behind the reaming jaws 24. Accordingly, these jaws may then be swung inwardly upon the shell so that the tool may, as particularly brought out in Figure 2, be readily lowered through a well casing, such a casing being conventionally illustrated at 37 When the tool reaches the bottom of the well, as shown in Figure 3, the weight of the turning tube 33 will serve to shift the sleeve 30 downwardly and accordingly also shift the core bar 14 downwardly be tween the reaming jaws. When the core bar is-thus moved downwardly, the wedge upper ends of said jaws outwardly in opposite directions to the limit of the throw thereof when, as the core bar reaches the limit of its downward movement, said wedge faces will seat flat against the inner edges of the jaws for rigidly supporting the jaws against inward thrust while the core bar will frictionally coact with the faces 28 at the upper ends of the jaws seating said faces flat against the adjacent sides of the bar. Thus, the shell 10 will, should the tool be slightly lifted, be prevented from dropping down along the core bar while the reaming jaws will be supported throughout their length to extend at opposite sides of the shell in upwardy divergent relation. The casing 37 is, of course, suspended in the well so that, as will be perceived, the tool may, after the reaming jawshave been spread apart, be rotated by means of the turning tube 33 for effecting the boring operation. As the tool is thus rotated, the. bit 21 will, of course, serve to initially form a small bore at the bottom of the well when, as the tool is advanced downwardly, the reaming jaws 24 will be brought into engagement with the wall of the bore for gradually cutting the wall away and increasing the diameter of the here until, at the upper ends of the jaws, the bore will be reamed out to freely accommodate the casing. Thus, the casing may be lowered as the work progresses so that, as illustrated in measure protect the shell against? undue wear and in being slotted to snugly straddle the reaming jaws, will function to rigidly brace the projecting outer longitudinal margins of said jaws against shearing strain. Snapping off of the outer margins of the jaws, which might otherwise occur, isaccordingly prevented and since the jaws are gradually inclined upwardly, the teeth of the 'aws will, as the tool islowered, be successively brought into engagement with the wall of the bore for producing a smooth, clean-cut hole. I

Coincident with the rotation of the tool, water at a suitable pressure is introduced through the turning tube 33 so that, as will be seen, the water will flow down the channels 16 and 17 and out through the registering openings 13 and 34 of the shell and.

sleeve, the water in the passages 16 finding outlet through the notches 19 into the ,pas-

sages 17 The water will thus be liberated into the well at the openings 34 of the sleeve to flow through the passages 36 and around the reaming jaws as well as around the bit for cooling these parts. Preferably, a suction pump is connected with the casing 37 at the upper end thereof so that as water is introduced through the tool at the bottom of the well, water will be drawn off from the casing at the top of the well. According1y,-as will be seen, as the water is liberated into the well, water currents of corresponding volume will be caused to flow upwardly around the tool within the passages 35 to enter the lower end of the casing. Upward flow of water through the well exteriorly of the casing, to cause caving in of the well, is thus prevented. Furthermore, the water is caused to flow quite swiftly around the tool at the bottom of the well so that as slush is formed in the gradually rise to the surface of the sleeve 30 away from the direction of rotation of the tool, any particles or lumps in said passages will, as the tool rotates, be crushed between the sleeve and casing and sticking of the tool thereby obviated.

As is well known, it is desirable in drilling operations tovtake samples from time s to time of sand from the well as the drilling progresses in order to determine the disposition and location of different earth strata. As will be perceived, a reliable sample of sand cannot be had at the top of the well since sand so drawn to the top of the well will, of necessity, become mixed with other sand in the well.

Provision is, therefore, made, whereby, without removing the tool, a sample of sand may be taken from a point near the bottom of the well. To accomplish this result, the

turning tube 33 is pulled upwardly until the sleeve 30 is elevated upon the shell 10 to the position "shown in Figure 2, when the openings 34 in the sleeve will be disposed above the upper end of the shell. Thus, the water and sand near the bottom of the well may enter the upper end portion of the sleeve through said openings to then flow upwardly through the channels 16 and 17 of the core bar 14 into the lower end of the turning tube. Accordingly, a sand bucket may then be lowered to the bottom of the turning tube and a sample of the sand collected in the bucket. When the bucket is then removed the sample of sand obtained will, as will be seen, be unmixed with any of the slush in the upper end portion of the well casing so that the sample will give an accurate 'readturning tube 33 is lifted to elevate the sleeve 30 upon the shell 10, as shown in Figure 2, and since the core bar 14: is normally frictionally engaged with the faces 28 of the jaws 24, a sli ht upward jerk should be exerted upon t e tool to free the core bar. When the sleeve is thus elevated, the core bar will, of course, be also elevated and the wedge faces 20 of said bar retracted upwardly from behind the jaws. Thus, the jaws will be freed to-swing inwardly at their upper ends so that. the turning tube may then be slowly elevated for lifting the tool until the edges 26 of the jaws contact the lower edge of the well casing. The casing will then coact with said edges of the jaws for swinging the jaws inwardly at their upper ends to be received within the casing when, of course, the upward movement of the tool may be accelerated and the tool quickly removed. Thus, the tool may be inserted into a well through the casing and may likewise be withdrawn through the casing.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A rotary well drilling tool including a shell having one end thereof adapted to sup port a bit for cutting a bore, a reaming jaw pivoted upon the'shell and adapted to swing outwardly thereon to active position for reaming out the bore behind the bit, a core bar slidable in the shell to coact with the jaw for swinging the jaw outwardly and normally sustaining the jaw in active position, means slidably connecting the core bar with the shell and adapted to limit the core bar in its upward movement upon the shell, and a sleeve connected to said core bar and slidably fitting over the shell.

2. A rotary well drilling tool including a shell having one end thereof adapted to support a bit for cutting a bore, a reaming jaw pivoted upon the shell and adapted to swing outwardly thereon to active position for reaming out the'bo-re behind the bit, a core bar slidable in the shell to coact with the jaw for swinging the jaw outwardly and normally sustaining the jaw in active position, means slidably connecting the core bar with the shell and adapted to limit the core bar in its upward movement upon the shell, and a sleeve connected to said core bar and slidably fitting over the shell, the sleeve being slotted to snugly accommodate the reaming jaw therethrough bracing the reaming 3. A rotary drilling tool including a shell having one end thereof adapted to support a bit, a reaming jaw upon the shell in the rear of the bit, the shell being provided with an opening through the wall thereof, a core bar slidable in the shell to coact with the jaw and provided at its upper end portion with a water passage normally communicating with said opening, and a sleeve slidably fitting over the shell and connected tothe core bar, the sleeve being formed to receive a turning tube communicating with the waterpassage of the core bar and being formed with a water outlet opening normally communicating with said opening of the shell.

4. A rotary drilling tool including a shell having one end thereof adapted to support a bit, a reaming jaw upon the shell in the rear of the bit, the shell being provided with an opening through the wall thereof, a core bar slidable in the shell to coact with the jaw and provided at its upper end portion with a water passage normally communicating with said opening, a sleeve slidably fit ting over the shell and connected to the core bar, the sleeve being formed to receive a turning tube communicating with the water passage of the core bar and being formed with a water outlet opening normally communicating with said 0 ening of the shell, and a slush passage in t e outer face of the sleeve.

5. A rotary drilling tool including a shell having one end thereof adapted to support a bit, a reaming jaw upon the shell in the rear of the bit, the shell being provided with an opening through the wall thereof, a core bar slidable in the shell to coact with the jaw and provided at its upper end portion with a water passage normally communicating with said opening, a sleeve slidably fitting over the shell and connected to the core bar, the sleeve being formed to receive a turning tube communicating with the water passage of the core bar and being formed with a water outlet opening normally communicating with said opening'of the shell, and a slush passage in the outer face of the sleeve having a bottom wall gradually merging into the face of thesleeve.

6. A rotary drilling tool including a shell having one end thereof adapted to support a bit, a reaming jaw upon the shell in the rear of the bit, the shell being provided with an opening through the wall thereof, a core bar slidable in the shell to coact with the jaw and provided at its upper end portion with a water passage normally communicating with said opemng, a sleeve slidably fit: ting over the shell and connected to the core bar, the sleeve being formed to receive a turning tube communicating with the water passage of the core bar and being formed with a water outlet opening normally communicating with said open ng of the shell, a slush passage in the outer face of the sleeve, and a water passage in the outer face of the sleeve extending between said opening in the sleeve and said slush passage.

A rotary drilling tool including a shell, a jaw carried by the shell, a core bar shiftable upon the shell for advancing said jaw, and a sleeve slidably fitting over the shell and connected to said bar.

8. A rotary drilling tool including a shell adapted to support a bit, a jaw carried by the shell, a squared core bar slidably fitting in the shell and shiftable for advancing said jaw as well as being rotatable for turning the tool, and a sleeve slidably fitting over the shell and connected to said bar, the sleeve being slotted to receive the jaw therethrough bracing the jaw against shearing strain. 4

9. A rotary well drilling tool including cutting means, means operatively supporting sa1d cutting means, means shiftable upon said supporting means for advancing a shell, a jaw carried thereby, a core bar shiftable upon the shell for advancing said jaw, and a sleeve fitting over the shell and rigidly mounting said bar.

11. A rotary well drilling tool including alshell, a jaw pivoted near its lower end upon the shell, :1 core bar slidable in the shell and shiftable to eoact with said jaw for swinging the upper end of the jaw outwardly, and a sleeve slidably fitting over the 10 shell and rigidly mounting said bar.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature. 

